Internet Information

Wireless Home Networking

Charter WiFi

Charter offers a WiFi solution for customers subscribed to Charter Internet. This service allows you to network multiple PCs and other devices (any combination of wireless and wired) to your Internet service without running wires all over the home.

We offer Charter WiFi as a solution for our customers who subscribe to Charter Internet.

Charter WiFi professional installation includes:

Connection of up to 5 computers (any combination of wireless and wired

Charter WiFi provides added security to the home network by using encryptions such as WiFi Protected Access (WPA) and Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP). Both encryption types provide security with easy to use settings on the Charter leased equipment. Professional installation of the Charter Home Network includes security encryption setup.

WiFi products are identified as 802.11, and are then further identified by a lower case letter that identifies which specific technology is in operation, such as 802.11g/n. Each certification set is defined by a set of features that relate to performance, frequency and bandwidth.

WiFi devices can handle lots of data per second. The 802.11g wireless specification which permits data throughput up to a theoretical 54 megabits per second.

The 802.11n permit data throughput up to 450 megabits per second.

Note: Steel reinforced concrete walls, large amounts of metal or devices that generate lots of EM interference may create wireless 'dead' spots, even within a single home reducing performance.

Features and Benefits

Feature

Potential Benefit

Shared Access

Charter WiFi allows you to wirelessly share access to the Internet on up to five computers.

Professional Installation

Charter's technicians will install, configure and set up your home network for you using a cable gateway and wireless cards for your additional PC's.

Support

Charter will provide a dedicated technical support team to assist you in making sure your Wireless Home Networking equipment (leased gateway and wireless cards) is working properly.

WiFi that works with 802.11g transmit at 2.4 GHz. 802.11n transmits at 2.4GHz and 5 GHz. The high frequency and error checking allows higher data rates. While some cordless phones transmit at 2.4 GHz, error checking is virtually nonexistent.

WiFi uses efficient encoding techniques to further improve the possible connection speed and data transfer rate. This data encoding can also allow encryption.

WiFi transmitters can transmit directly on any of three bands or they can split the available radio bandwidth into dozens of channels and "bounce" or "frequency hop" rapidly between them, hundreds of times a second if necessary! The advantage of frequency hopping is that it is resistant to interference and can allow dozens of WiFi cards to talk simultaneously without interfering with each other.

The realistic maximum range for good, stable wireless connectivity with a Charter WiFi Gateway and the right adapters is up to 150 feet. Distances of 200 feet or more are possible in lab conditions, with little structural interference, but in the real world there are far more possible causes of interruption. Signal quality degrades over distance, but within this range, connections should be stable, unless there are heavy structural walls or large sources of interference.

Note: Take into account that steel reinforced concrete walls, large amounts of metal or devices that generate lots of EM interference may create wireless 'dead' spots, even within a single home.

Security Features

Charter WiFi provides added security to your home network by using encryptions such as WiFi Protected Access (WPA) and Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP). Both encryption types provide security with easy to use settings on the Charter leased equipment. Professional installation of Charter WiFi includes security encryption setup.

Charter WiFi does not include Charter Security Suite subscription keys. All Charter Security Suite keys are tied to the subscribed level of Internet service. Customers using multiple computers on a home network can purchase additional Charter Security Suite subscription keys. Contact us to purchase additional Charter Security Suite Keys.

Range: The Wireless Gateway will provide stable wireless connectivity at ranges up to 150ft so you can enjoy access from nearly any room in the house.

Wireless Adapters Provided

For each Charter WiFi Gateway, Charter will provide one generic "N" wireless adapter. This wireless adapter can be used in a desktop or laptop, as it connects through a USB connector. "N" adapters support n, g, b and a wireless devices.

Please Note: The wireless adapters we provide are not compatible with Macintosh systems at this time. If you have an existing wireless adapter (AirPort, etc) in your Macintosh and can connect to the wireless network, you will receive the same level of phone support (with settings) as any customer calling with a third party adapter. Hardware not provided by Charter does not receive installation and configuration support.

Find your WEP Key. Locate Network Key 1 at the bottom of the page and write it down. That is the WEP key.

How to Find the WPA Key. For WPA, The Ambit password that was entered in the WPA Pre-Shared Key field.

For Cisco Routers, please follow the steps below:

On a computer that is currently online, open up Internet Explorer. Erase what is in the Address bar and type in "http://192.168.0.1" and hit the Enter Key on the keyboard.

Log in to Your Router. Log in using username and password (The default User name is: chtruser and the default Password is: charter). If you have changed the User name and/or Password from the default, and cannot remember it, please contact Customer Service.

Click on Setup.

Under Wireless, click on Security.

Find Your WEP Key.

For Motorola Routers, please follow the steps below:

On a computer that is currently online, open up Internet Explorer. Erase what is in the Address bar and type in "http://192.168.0.1" and hit the Enter Key on the keyboard.

Log in to Your Router. Log in using username and password (The default User name is: admin and the default Password is: motorola). If you have changed the User name and/or Password from the default, and cannot remember it, please contact Customer Service.

Click on Wireless in the top menu bar.

In the menu on the left side, click on Primary Network.

Find Your WEP Key.

For SMC Routers, please follow the steps below:

On a computer that is currently online, open up Internet Explorer. Erase what is in the Address bar and type in "http://192.168.0.1" and hit the Enter Key on the keyboard.

Log in to Your Router. Log in using username and password (The default User name is: cusadmin and the default Password is: password). If you have changed the User name and/or Password from the default, and cannot remember it, please contact Customer Service.